Hello Neil,
Sorry for the delay in replying, sometimes work has to come first (not often
though!).
>I would guess that you have a 1500cc Midget with the overdrive in - one of
>our other club members has that done. There are actually three of us now in
>St. Albans with 5 speed Midgets - one of them also has a Metro Turbocharger
>bolted on, with extra boost, and is frighteningly quick!!!
Yes, I have the overdrive fitted to a 1500, (I used to prefer CB midgets but
after a truck lost control on a patch of ice and took out the front of my
midget
that extra lump of metal/plastic is quite reassuring). I seem to remember the
Turbo midget passing me on a racetrack in France last year, what BHP does this
give out - I had a Metro Turbo a few years back and found it to be a bit
underpowered.
> There seems to be lack of info on the net concerning Midget performance mods.
> I posted a note about improving handling a while back which got about 50
> requests for more info.
Most of the replies on Midget handling commented that there seemed to be no
shortage of advice & parts in the US for the MGB, but almost none on the Midget.
The 'B' bias seems to be worse over there than over here. Apparently this has
more to do with the owners than the number of cars, B owners are willing to
spend more than Midget owners. This is what I posted on handling .....
Andy,
Don't worry too much about the rear suspension on a Midget, it does not make a
lot of difference to the handling. The problem is with body roll, as you go
around a corner the amount of roll causes one of the rear wheels to lift up so
that it can not provide any drive. This makes the back end want to flip out
when cornering and accelerating.
The first handling mod that you should make to a midget is to fit (or uprate)
your anti roll bar. It does not cost a lot and transforms the handling of the
car.
As you do not have a roll bar, check the front side of your wishbone pans, they
should have three holes drilled in them, if not you will have to get new pans.
Next check if the front chassis legs have two tapped holes for the mounting
brackets.
You will probably be best off with a 11/16 roll bar (see below)
Road Use Race Use
Chrome Bumper 11/16 3/4
Rubber Bumper 3/4 7/8
For road use, polyurathane mounting bushes are best (standard rubber are too
soft and dont last long), for race use nylatron or even solid mounts.
If you want to improve matters further try the following (in order of
importance).
1. Uprate the anti roll bar.
2. Get rid on the spacer plates on the rear spring front plate (1500 only)
3. Uprate the front springs. For chrome bumper, dont lower but uprate to about
350lbs. For Rubber bumper uprate to 350lbs and also drop by 1 inch (1 1/4 if
you have low profile tires).
4. Change your tires for 165/70R13 profile. It is possible to fit 175/70, but
check clearance at the back. Some wire wheel conversion kits reduce rear
clearance.
5. Uprate the front dampers by about 30%
6. Replace the rear spring shackle bushes with polyurathane or even nylatron
bushes to reduce the sideways movement of the springs.
7. Lower the rear springs by 1 inch, but DO NOT uprate them as this will
reduce
travel and cause the rear wheels to lift off the ground.
It seems if you have done the right things so far, try borrowing a unmodidfed
midget, it is easy to get used to improved handing! I used a standard midget
to
drive to work for a few days (Enfield ---> Cambridge) and found it took 10 mins
extra.
Try and work out what lets down your handling, it is going along bumpy roads?
Does the front or the back break away first? (If you lack front grip uprate
the
rear suspension and vice versa - honest, I know this sounds the wrong way
around). Condition and type of bushes make a big difference to how 'confident'
the car feels when cornering. With worn bushes the car handles OK but does not
give you enough feedback to tell you how close you are to the limit.
If you or your club members have any other info/advice/information on Midget
handling/braking/performance please post it.
>Let bygones be bygones - if people are available and interested they will
>attend!
I did not mean this as a criticism! There seems to be a lack of MG events in
our
area, is it worth considering a joint event again in the future (next year)?
We
are both fairly active clubs, so have the potential to put on a good event. It
may interest you to know that the 'management' of our club has changed so we
should be easier to deal with.
The theme of our advice day will probably be '50 Years of MG' with a display of
cars starting with the MGF and RV8 and working back as far as possible. We
have
most cars back to the TF, but before this gets a bit more difficult.
Who do you use for spares, we all USED to use Blueprint in Hertford, but since
they sacked Pip, (who now works for MGOC spares dept), they have become
useless.
Rumours abound that they are going to give up MG spares. This only leaves us
with RW services near Ally Pally or Brown and Gammons (both of these are a bit
expensive). Of course it is possible to use mail order, but when a part goes
wrong you need to replace it straight away not next week.
Would your club be interested in either a go-karting or Quasar challenge some
time in the next month or so?
Sorry if I have been rambling on a bit, I keep getting interupted whilst
writing
this. All for now.
Regards
Alan Tong
_____________________________________________________
"Who's General Failure & why's he reading my disk?"
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